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Below is the state aid originally proposed by Gov. Cuomo. Please see the updated  March 27, 2012 version of this story that reflects the actual aid allotted to the district under the state budget.

Feb. 14, 2012

Understanding C-RCS's proposed state aid

As part of Gov. Cuomo's Executive Budget Proposal, schools are presented with an estimate of the school aid proposed under the governor's budget.

While the governor proposed a 4 percent increase in education funding, it does not translate to a 4 percent increase for each school district. For 2012-13,
C-RCS may see an increase in aid of $224,084, or 1.25 percent.

These numbers are not final. The legislators must still approve the final state budget. Also, several of these calculations are based on spending estimates/forecasts provided by the schools to the state. Schools will not have final tallies of the amount a district spent on transportation, BOCES services and such until the fiscal end of the school year, which is June 30.

Below is a chart illustrating the aid C-RCS received for the 2011-12 school year and the current estimates for the 2012-13 year, followed by a list of definitions for each category.

Category	2011-12	2012-13
Foundation Aid	$    13,117,724	$    13,117,724
Universal Pre-Kindergarten	$       162,263	$       165,520
BOCES and special services	$    1,019,289	$       878,348
High Cost Excess Cost	$         71,158	$       156,006
Private Excess Cost	$       188,081	$       155,352
Hardware and Technology	$         35,513	$         35,001
Software, Library, Textbook	$       156,698	$       158,511
Transportation (including summer)	$    2,731,800	$    2,707,603
Gap Elimination Adjustment	-$    3,674,821	-$    3,355,797
Building + Blding Reorg Incentive	$    4,071,849	$    4,085,370
Total	$  17,879,554	$  18,103,638
$ change 12-13 minus 11-12	$ 224,084
% change total aid	1.25 percent
$ change w/o building, reorg blding aid	$210,563
% change w/o building, reorg blding aid	1.52

 

Understanding the categories

 

Foundation Aid: Foundation Aid is the primary elementary and secondary school aid distributed by the state based on need. Foundation Aid for all school districts has been frozen at the 2008-09 amount, meaning no district has seen an increase in state Foundation Aid since 2008.

Universal Prekindergarten: Districts receive grant money for providing half-day pre-kindergarten programs to  4-year-olds, five days per week, during the school year.

BOCES + Special Services: This is an expense-driven aid based on approved 2011-12 administrative and service expenses. The more a district spends in this category (and other expense-driven aids), the more in aid it receives the following year. A decrease in this aid means the district spent less on these services. There are limits to this aid: approved expense for BOCES Administrative and Shared Services Aids is based on a salary limit of $30,000.

High Excess Cost:  High Excess Cost aid is the approved expenses claimed  for students with disabilities attending public schools or BOCES.

Private Excess Cost:  Private Excess Cost Aid is for public school students attending private schools for students with disabilities, for which the home district pays tuition.

Hardware & Technology:  To be eligible for aid for instructional computer hardware and technology equipment expenses, school districts must develop and maintain a plan, in a format prescribed by the commissioner, for the use of the instructional computer technology equipment. This is an expense-driven aid, meaning it is based on what a district spent in the current year. Aid is based on the lesser of actual purchase or lease expenses in the base year or a maximum aid limit.

Software, Library, Textbook:  This is also an expense-based aid. All three aids are based on the amount spent on software, library aids and textbooks in 2011-12 and the number of students in the district.

Transportation including Summer: This is an expense-driven aid. Aid for capital expenses is based on the assumed amortization of purchase, lease and equipment costs over five years, at a statewide average interest rate. Aid for non-capital expenses is based on estimated approved transportation operating expenses. Transportation Aid for district operated summer school programs is based on approved transportation operating expenses and the selected transportation aid ratio, for the transportation of pupils to approved district-operated summer programs.

Gap Elimination Adjustment: This is a reduction in state aid applied to all school districts in an effort to close the state's structural deficit. The GEA varies by district.

Building + Bldg Reorganization Incentive: This is an expense-driven aid. Districts receive aid from the sate for capital building projects, leases, certain refinancing costs and an assumed debt service payment based on the useful life of the project and an average interest rate.